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Is he even okay? Will he really be able to avoid being caught?
And selfishly, I also wonder whether he’ll come seek me out after lying low for a while. After everything cools down will Giggs be here at my door, like he said he would? My heart does a quick pump and I rub my lips, remembering the way he kissed me and tingles assault my belly. It was perfect and the kiss intensified our connection so hard, that I know that even if we spend our lifetime apart it won’t ever break.
Looking down at my fingers, I sigh when I notice hot pink on them but then a smile crosses my face. Giggs never liked it when I wore anything on my mouth and I guess I’ll leave it like this. Why though? Just in case he comes around?Porsha, just because he ran away doesn’t mean he’ll be rash enough to immediately come look for you...
And yes, Giggs is willing to risk a lot for me but noteverythingand I nod to myself. It’s better this way anyway. It’s safer for him to wait for the right moment. Grabbing the keys I keep in a bowl, I put them in my crochet purse and take a deep breath.
It soothes some of the trembling that’s been in my body the whole morning. Couldn’t even push down breakfast or do my laundry. All I could do was pace back and forth in front of the TV while biting my nails. I’ve been a nervous wreck this whole time. Maybe socializing will help a little and deciding to just go for it, I head out the door and after locking, I put the key underneath a cactus plant.
Where I live it’s actually safe doing that, believe it or not and flinging my purse over my shoulder, I plaster a smile on my face and walk down the path to the meadow. It’s a little cooler out here in the woods, the tree crowns lending much needed shade and I don’t feel like I’m about to turn into a puddle anymore. My stomach coils when I hear laughter and talking and the sound of children screeching.
A picnic. How perfectly normal, even for a girl whose heart belongs to a runaway convict.
Most of the neighborhood is here and we’re all pretty tight knit. I’m one of the youngest unless you count the kids, the rest middle aged couples. Waving and doing my best impression of a toothpaste commercial, I greet everyone and sit down on a blanket and let out a laugh when I’m immediately attacked by a dachshund that belongs to an older lady. Taking out a cake that I bought at the supermarket (which is my only contribution to this picnic), I then accept a glass of lemonade when offered.
It’s a little acidic for my taste but I drink everything up anyway. I do my best to engage in the conversations but I don’t really fool anyone and they can all tell how distracted I am. Plucking the petals off a daisy, I finally get enough and I rise, deciding to just go play Frisbee with the kids instead.
They’re overjoyed, almost stumbling over themselves and it makes me genuinely smile. We play for almost half an hour until my arm is starting to ache and I’m getting thirsty again. Moving to grab some more lemonade, I freeze when I catch a movement between the trees.
Using my hand to shield myself from the sun, I squint to be able to see better. Did someone just run by or was it just something I thought I saw? I bite my lip, surprised when I feel a shiver down my spine as if someone’s watching.
“You peachy, Porsha?” one of my neighbors named Hank asks with a grin and I quickly nod. “You sure? Why don’t you sit down? We’re just about to open up the Prosecco.”
“Thanks, but I think I’ll pass,” I murmur, still watching the woods. “There’s a paper I need to write...”
“Excuses, excuses,” Hanks says, rolling his eyes and his wife, Halle nods in agreement.
“Stay a while more and leave with us. Dark’s about to fall and I don’t think you should be going anywhere on your own.”
“Why not?” I say, my mind absent and there’s zero movement amongst the trees now. But the dachshund is standing before the woods, letting out yappy barks without daring to go in.
“Haven’t you heard? A whole truck of convicts got hijacked and one of them managed to escape. Think his name’s Buchner or something...”
“Buchanan,” I breathe and even saying his name hurts.
“That’s the one. They’re saying he’s insanely violent and a danger to every man, woman and child. Hank is planning on keeping watch the whole night, just to protect me and the kids.”
I feel a flash of annoyance. “You shouldn’t believe everything you hear. They’re exaggerating as they always do.”
Hank laughs. “Heck no...I’ve seen the photos of that convict. That cruelty around his mouth, the pure evil shining out of his eyes...”
Protectiveness flares in me.
“Not true!” I blurt angrily. “Don’t you dare talk...,” I trail off when they twitch, staring at me like I just told them that I never wash myself. “What I mean is that some p...prisoners are a lot more innocent than you think.”
The couple glances at each other, not looking convinced and with flushing cheeks, I grab my purse and then I’m out of there. I can feel their eyes in the back and they must think all kinds of things about me. How embarrassing what just happened. I should’ve kept my mouth shut but my emotions got the better of me. I couldn’t stand hearing them say anything bad about Giggs, that’s all.
None of them were in the alley with me that time. They don’t know what went down and they don’t know what would’ve happened if Giggs hadn’t been there for me. When I asked him why he put himself on the line for a girl he didn’t even know, he told me that everything that’s good needs to be kept safe.
I get a lump in my throat because there were other workers at the construction site and they too saw what had happened but they didn’t do anything to help. Giggs did. And he paid for it dearly and it’s so unfair that it makes me boil. Muttering to myself, I hurry home and I’m so worked up, I barely notice that night has fallen.
Lifting the cactus, I pick up the key, unlock the door and once in my own hallway I take a deep breath. I startle when the cuckoo clock rings. I let out a low laugh at my own jitteriness but there seems to be something different in the air, some kind of electricity...Brushing it off, I step into the living room and check my computer real quick. The document with my paper is still open but I don’t feel like working on that now.
And I’m overheating from the fast paced walk. Probably could use that ice cube and without turning on the light, I step into my kitchen and open the freezer. Popping my hand into the bucket, I tense when there’s a movement in the shadows behind the freezer door.
Letting out a scream, my eyes flare when a figure lunges at me, covering my mouth with his palm and we fall to the floor. I struggle beneath him, trying to scream underneath his big hand when I catch a hint of something woodsy and defiantly male. I know a man who smells like that...
My eyes flare, boring into a pair I recognize more than well and I start shaking, incapable of melting this and he slowly removes his hand. “Giggs...,” I sob, flooding with feminine relief when he cups my neck and locks his mouth on mine.
